Live from Pubcon: Keynote with Scott Stratten

Scott Stratten is always an entertaining speaker. He couples a dynamic stage presence with humor — and humor that we all, as marketers, relate to. Scott’s presentations are FAR from boring.

Brand Experiences

Scott first started off by sharing a story that many parents with small kids can relate to. A family went on vacation to the Ritz-Carlton at Amelia Island, FL. When they left to return home, the young son left his stuffed giraffe, Joshie, behind. When the father and child realized that Joshie was missing, panic clearly set in. The father contacted the hotel to immediately let them know, hoping they might be able to find Joshie. In the meantime, the father did what any good parent would do — STALL! He told his son that Joshie was on an extended vacation but would return home soon.

Fortunately, the staff at the Ritz-Carlton had already found Joshie wrapped up in the bedsheets and realized that a young child would be missing his lovey. They not only mailed Joshie overnight to the family, but they also took pictures of Joshie on his extended vacation:

Joshie by the pool:

Joshie getting a massage:

And Joshie even received his own ID badge, since he was helping out on the property:

The Ritz-Carlton figured out how to do customer service and do it right. You have to imagine that the family, so impressed with this level of dedication, likely told all of their friends about the experience. And it turns out that the father in this story also is a blogger for The Huffington Post, where he posted this story about the experience.

Marketing Isn’t Just a Logo

Scott stressed that marketing isn’t just about a logo. Your BRAND isn’t a logo. Branding is about the brand story people recognize when they see that logo. Branding is about the experience, not the logo. The logo only reminds them of the experience they associate with that logo. People remember the last interaction and the most extreme interaction. That counts. Brand changes with every interaction. Brand is always changing and evolving.

After telling the story of the Ritz-Carlton experience, without looking at the logo above, could you remember if the lion in the logo faces right or left? Does it matter? NO. What matters is the experience you associate with the logo and brand.

In Social, Shut Up and Listen!

You should be listening in social media more than talking. Hear what people are saying about your brand, and respond to it.

Why Scott Hates QR Codes

Scott recently wrote a book entitled QR Codes Kill Kittens. So why does he dislike QR codes so much?

Marketers use new tactics because they think they have potential. But potential means that something that is terrible now may be better in the future.

He gave the example of a billboard that says “Don’t text and drive” with a QR code on it. We’re using QR codes improperly. It hurts us all when the experience is bad.

Using Social Media for Customer Service

Scott shared a story of travelling through security at JFK airport. Essentially, he was feeling frustrated by the wait and the delays to get through security, but that frustration reached a tipping point when the Delta flight crew pushed past everyone in line impolitely, without even saying, “Excuse me.” When Scott told the Delta crew that it would have been better to say, “Excuse me,” a flight attendant turned around and told him that she had said it and told him to “open his ears.” Yikes!

Now, Scott Stratten, with all of his Twitter following, was angry. So he angrily tweeted about his experience. Even though he misspelled “Delta” in the tweet, Delta Airlines responded within three minutes of his tweet, apologizing for the instance.

The speed at which you reply has a direct correlation to the how the situation is resolved. While integrity in social media is important, immediacy is just as important.